1. ERPP and partners: PERL ARC and Ford Foundation organized the 3rd SEES which attracted high level personalities from private sector and the five governments of the Easter. The over 500 participants came from all over the world.
2. The Governor of Enugu State sent the Director General of Easter Governors’ Forum to open the Summit.
3. The former Governor of Anambra State and pioneer Chairman of Easter Governors’ Forum who is now the Vice presidential candidate of PDP was the Keynote Speaker.
4. A sampling of the international attendees included Dr. Walid Farghal, Director General Annual Investment Meeting, UAE Ministry of Economy: under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vic President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. A sampling of the Nigerian participants include: Dr. Paschal Dozie, Chief Mabzulike Amaechi, Sen. Ben Obi, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Chief Dubem Onyia, Dr. Alex Chika Okafor (Chicason), etc
5. There were vigorous discussions in the on-going ERPP projects in rail network, gas pipeline network, hospital development, ICT, and the Easter Finance Company.
6. There were presentations on key industrial sectors such as Enyimba Economic City, Geometric Power Project, in Aba, Aba Ariaria shoe manufacturers.
7. There were industrialists such as Dr Chika Okafor, Chairman, Chicason Group of Companies, ICT entrepreneurs, agribusiness industrialists.
8. There were excellent presentations on the Ease of Doing Business, particularly a World Bank report on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria and the Easter.
9. The UAE Annual Investment Meeting signed an MOU with ERPP Board on Investment and Development partners, this was the one of the major highlights of the Summit.

Resolutions
1. Within one year to conclude feasibility study of the rail network, gas pipeline and hospital projects.
2. The SEFCO project development team will have completed the plans for capitalization by year end.
3. ERPP to set up mechanism for returning to the traditional method of training and certifying the vocational training for youths in order to give them job opportunities.
4. ERPP to support Aba leather manufacturing cluster.
5. ERPP to work with project developers to begin implementation of CSR that give sustainable empowerment to the communities and people.
6. ERPP to set up innovation center for providing technical innovation for SE entrepreneurs.
7. The Commissioners of Commerce and industries of the Easter States were enjoined to provide and publish a properly “manned” compliant hotline.

This year’s event with the theme “Repositioning The Easter For Rapid Economic Development” was organised by the Easter Governor’s Forum (SEGF) in collaboration with Eastern Region Project Planning (ERPP), UK Department for International Development (DFID) and its implementation organ (PERL), NDIGBO and Entrepreneurship, Nzuko Umunna, Alaigbo Development Foundation, Ndigbo in Lagos, Easter Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ohaneze and other development organs of Igbo land.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE Easter ECONOMIC SUMMIT HELD FROM THE 11TH – 13TH NOVEMBER 2017 AT THE NIKE LAKE HOTEL, ENUGU.

PREAMBLE
The Easter Economic Summit was held from November 11-13, 2017 in Enugu. The summit was organised by the Easter Governor’s Forum (SEGF) in collaboration with Eastern Region Project Planning (ERPP), UK Department for International Development (DFID) and its implementation organ (PERL), NDIGBO and Entrepreneurship, Nzuko Umunna, Alaigbo Development Foundation, Ndigbo in Lagos, Easter Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ohaneze and other development organs of Igbo land.

The Summit commended the South-East Governors for forging unity among themselves in the larger interest of the South-East region and for setting up the South-East Governor’s Forum (SEGF) that facilitated the Easter Economic Summit.
The Summit recalls with nostalgia, the great economic strides made by the people of the Easter Zone in the pre-independence era and few years after the independence of Nigeria. It observed that poor infrastructural facility is the bane of economic development in the South-East region.

After exhaustive deliberations, the summit resolved as follows:
• The adoption of the study conducted by the Brenthurst Foundation on the infrastructural needs of the South-East states and called on the Easter Governor’s Forum to pursue the full implementation of the Easter Projects blueprint by the Foundation.
• In addition, the Summit adopted presentations made and recommendations proposed for the rapid economic development of the Easter Zone in the areas of agriculture, ease of doing business, infrastructure, health, education and media development as follows:

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
The Summit adopts the need for the creation of an enabling environment for doing business in the South-East by government assisting in providing/facilitating the needed infrastructure including road, power and empowerment (access to finance, skill etc.) and also streamline and publish laws, regulations and processes in order to make transparent, the environment for ease of doing business in the South–East. This is to be measured by significant increase in the ranking of South-East states in the 2018 World Bank sub-national index.

INFRASTRUCTURE 
The Summit fully adopted the presentations on infrastructural development of the Easter in the areas of road concession, power, rail network, gas pipeline, water, ICT, industrial parks etc.

AGRICULTURE
The summit adopts the recommendations on Agriculture to achieve sustainable agricultural production. The Easter must be able to feed itself and export food particularly basic food. It should be able to develop an agro processing hub in Nigeria.

HEALTH
The adoption of the presentations on health (on the need) to develop/provide medical and hospital initiative to provide a first class medical programme that can attract health tourism to the region and significantly reduce the mortality rate across all ages in the Easter.

MEDIA
The summit agreed on the need for a robust media engagement for the purpose of rapid economic development of the SE and urged all the SE states to key into media platforms for effective information dissemination and mobilisation for investment.

CONCLUSION
The Summit calls on the South-East Governor’s Forum to fully fund and support the Regional and States’ Implementation Task Forces in realizing the recommendations of the Summit.

Photos from the summit.

The San Carlos farm seats on a 3400 hectare land size; but as at the time of this visit, only 250 hectares is actively being used.

It has a production capacity of 40MT/hectare and its workforce of about 150 people are sourced from the surrounding communities.

The workforce recruited are constantly being trained and part of the farm is under irrigation. They have a market reach that spans the Nigerian federation.

Presentation of Kolanut (Oji)

Lunch and Pleasantries